Good News 1959 (Vol VIII No 05) May_w

7/28/2019 Good News 1959 (Vol VIII No 05) May_w

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YOLo VIII, NUMBER 5

International Magltztne o fTHE CHURCH OF GOD

MAY, 1959

Thousands Observe God'sPASSOVER!

T he greatest Passover in modern times was recently observed!II/creasing POWTER is manifest in God's Church around the world!

by Roderick C. Meredith

h ROSS the nanon, and around th eworld, God's people recentlycelebrated His Passover.Now including observances in NewYork City and London, England, it was

the greatest Passover in modern times!And we know tha t many of our brethrenin Africa, Australia, the Philippines andelsewhere were also commemorating thedeath of our Lord and Master at thisPassover season.

Joyous Festival at GladewaterAmid the joyous greet ings of Christ ian friends old and new, the p reparations for the Passover at the big tabernacle at Gladewater got underwayTuesday afternoon, April 21. Mr. Roy

Hammer and many of the other deaconsbad worked bard to make the organizational end of things a success, and itcertainly was.Ttcelre hundred people registered forthe Days of Unleavened Bread at Gladewater! The minist er s there were constantly busy throughout the entire eightdays of the Festival of UnleavenedBread counseling with people aboutpersonal problems, anointing the sickand baptizing man)' new brethren intoChrist's body. A total of twenty-threenew people were bap tized during thefestival at Gladewater , and began therea! Chr is ti an life of ove rcoming selfand living by every word of God!Many powerful sermons were de-

livered by Mr. Armstrong, Mr. TedArmstrong, and Mr. Norman Smith.They were ably assisted by our otherminis ters in the area, and by Mr. AlbertPortune, Mr. Tony Hammer, and Mr.Bill McDowell from Ambassador College.Reports from those who attended indicate that the minister s and the newermen assisting them in the preaching allgave exceptionally powerful sermonsand this augurs more of the same forall of us when we meet together at theFeast of Tabernacles this fall!

Six: hundred and forty-eight converted Christians partook of the Passover,plus the hundreds of others who attended many of the services during theeight-day festival at the tabernacle.Scores of new bre thren were in att endance, and had the opportunity for thefirst time of fellowshipping with othersof like faith and of learning togethermore of the true way of li fe sent to thisearth through Jesus Christ.Truly, our tabernacle near Glaclewater , Texas , is one of the places whereGod has chosen to place His name,and His presence was felt there duringthis festival!Passover in the California ChurchesA total of six hundred and forty-twoadults partook of the Passover at theheadquarter's Church of God in Pasadena' Scores of others attended the

Feast and the preaching services.In addition, several special Biblestudies were held during the Days ofUnleavened Bread and many questionswere answered. Also, many special subjects were brought up during thesestudies and sermons were given on manyunusual topics by Me. Herman Hoeh,who presided during the festival.Mr. Benjamin Rea presided at thePassover services in the San DiegoChurch, and a total of 72 adults partookwith many others attending the Feastand Holy Day services.Mr. George Meeker


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Page 2 Tbe GOOD NEWS May, 1959

ministering to it s membersscattered abroad

Be sure to notify us immediately ofchange of address.

International magazineofTHE CHURCH OF GOD

came lip from Pasadena to help out inpreaching and counseling with thepeople.As usual for tha t area, it rained a fewlimes Juring lhe Days of UnleavenedBread, but it is well reporred that thespirits of the brethren there were notdampened in the least and it was awonderful festival in every way. It wasthe first full Festival of UnleavenedBread to be held in the Northwest areaand since that area is really GROWING,even larger festivals can be expected insucceeding years.Before going down to assist in thepreaching services at Portland, Mr. Friddle was in charge of the Passover andFeast in the Seatt le-Tacoma area. Therewere 122 adults ther e who partook ofthe Passover and about 200 were presentfor the Feast the following evening. Mr.Friddl e reporrs tha t in the three or fourweeks preceding the Passover, he wasable to baptize 31 people in tha t area!So God's Church is growing in everyway in the Northwest , and we may giveHim thanks and praise for these newmembers added to the body of Christ!

Passover at DenverMr. Bryce Clark and Mr. Charles

Dorothy conducted a full eight daysFestival of pr eaching and counselingduring the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread at Denver, Colorado.They were assisted by Mr. Dale Hampton, an older, married Junior studentfrom Ambassador College, who isalready a very effective pr eacher andservant of Christ.In that area, 151 adults partook ofthe Passover and over 300 attendedservices on the first Holy Day with wellover 100 in attendance each day duringthe entire Festival of Unleavened Bread.God blessed His people in that areain many ways. One of these bless ingswas that a lthough the weatherman forecast a s to rm on the weekend during theDays of Unleavened Bread, they neversaw it. It was around 70 degrees everyday during the Feast!God's Passover Celebrated in Londonand Bristol, EnglandA wonderful and worshipful Passoverseason was enjoyed by God's saints overin the Brit ish Isles. Brethren were inat tendance at London from many areasin England and from Sweden and Ger

many as well.Mr. Raymond McNair officiated at thePassover service in London with 46adults in attendance, and many moreattending the preaching services on theHoly Day.Mr. Ernest Martin conducted Passover services for our newly formedBible Study group in Bristol, England.

they brought friends with t hem on succeeding nights! Thus, at the preach ingservice on the final Holy Day, therewere one hundred forry adults - ortwenty times seven-in attendance!People Hungering fo r the TruthSince everyone in that area is relatively "new" in God's truth, the meetings

were like a miniature evangelistic campaign . Because of the very zealous atti-tude of the brethren there, Mr. Smithand I were inspi red to give more powerful sermons than we normal ly mighthave on such an occasion. One of ourzealous junior s tudents in AmbassadorCollege, Arlen Shelton, was a great helpto us in counsel ing with dozens of people before and after the meetings, helping to arrange for things for the Passoverand Feast, and in pl aying the piano forthe congregational singing.I was especially struck by the greathelp my wife, Margie, was to me andeveryone during this Passover season. Somany dozens of the women had personalproblems and quest ions that she wasable to help with, and her natural loveof people seemed to warm up and inspire all of the men and women alike.I hope that this mention will causemany of you scat tered bre thren to learnto seek out the minister's uiiues at ourannual Iesi ivals ro get help and advice,and to counsel with about special problems when you are nor able to getd irect ly to the ministers. They will beable to help you more than you imagine!

The zeal and the g reat NEED of thepeople in this area have caused us todetermine that, God willing, a newchurch shall be established in New YorkCity somet ime later this year. Becauseof his intimate knowledge of our brethren in that area, and his special desireto help them, Mr. Carlton Smith iscurrent ly s la ted to be the pastor of God 'sChurch in New York City. Let us allPRAY that God may make the foundingof this church possible, and that Hisblessing will be with Mr. Smith and withall of His people there as this newchurch begins!

Passover in the NorthwestThe churches in Oregon came to

gether at Portland for the Passoverservices. There was a grand to ta l of 207who partook of the Passover, and onthe first Holy Day there were, includingchildren, 360 present at services!Regular preaching services werescheduled during the Days of UnleavenedBread with Mr. Raymond Cole as theEvangeli st in charge. He was assistedin the preaching services by Mr. BurkMcNair and Mr. Jimmy Friddle. Also,Mr. David Antion-this year's studentbody president of Ambassador College-

NUMBIR 5OL. VIII

Address communications to the Editor,Box 111, Pasadena, California.Copyright, May, 1959By the RadioChurchof God

HerbertW. ArmstrongPublisher and EditorGarnerTed ArmstrongExecutive EditorHerman 1. HoehManaging EditorRoderick C. MeredithAssociate Editor

to l ight the real spi ri tual heaigor of thepeople in this area!My wife and I, Mr. Carlton Smith,and Mr. Arlen Shelton all flew back toNew York City tl 1 order to conduct thisfirst Passover Service and to hold nightlymeetings during the Days of UnleavenedBread plus special services on the HolyDays. It was a wonder fu l oppor runityand a challenge! To see the confusedsystem and the confused people in thisconcrete "jungle" is always an experience, but to conduct the first Passoverservice of God's Church in such an areawas an experience indeed!Everything God does through humanbeings starts alit small. And so it waswith this first New York Passover. Andyer, in spi te of the compara tive ly smallnumber of people in at tendance, t he rewas a great deal of zeal manifested, agreat many problems were solved, andGod did seem to cause many things torun in cycles of seven-which seems toindicate His blessing, as it is the "per fect" or complete number in the Bible.The night before the Passover , sevennew people were baptized. At the Passover service, seventy-seven, or eleventimes seven were in attendance! Then,during the Days of Unleavened Bread,there was another bapti smal service atwhich time set/en more were bapt ized.Actually, the number in attendanceduring the night ly meetings continuedto increase steadily. This was becausemany of our friends and Co-Workerswho were not yet ready to partake ofthe Passover began attending thesemeetings, and some became so interested


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May, 1959 The GOOD NEWS Page 3

Courtesy Du Bry Photography

The congregation at the Tabernacle listen to Mr. Armstrong as he delivers one of his inspiringmessages during th e Festival of Unleavened Bread.

There were nine adult s in a ttendance ,but it is repo rt ed that they had a wonderfu l service and much Christian fellowship -looking forward to an evenlarger festival next year as a full-fledgedchurch is formed in that area.An even more recent blessing in thatarea is that Mr. Raymond McNair andhis wife, Leona, recently became thethankful parents of a bouncing babyboy! Young Master Me.Nair's name isBruce Andrew David, weighing in at8 pounds, 10 ounces. Even though ourchurches in London and Bristol arerather small as yet and only in theirformative stages, it has been jokinglyremarked that Mr. McNair and Mr.Martin are doing their best to increasethe populat ion of God 's Church in thatarea since thei r wives are both havingchildren this year!Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Martin's babyhas nor yet arrived, but when it does wewill try to inform you in this column!And while we are mentioning newbabies of the minis ters, we should by allmeans tell you of the sweet and daintylittle baby girl that recently came as ablessing to Mr. and Mrs. Ken Swisher,of the Gladewater, Texas church. Mr.Swisher is the pastor there, and hadspent many a week waiting for the over-

Courtesy Du Bry Photography

Some of th e younger generation enjoying themselves o n th e T ab er na cl e groundsduring the Festival. Playing ball with the youngsters is Mr. Priebe of the Gladewater Church of God.


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Page 4 Tbe GOOD NEWS May, 1959due l it tle Miss. Bur she turned out veryweII, and was extremely worth waitingfor! Her name? Regina Lorraine, afterher maternal grandmother, Mrs. Battles,of the Pasadena church.

Passover Services at PittsburghMr. Wayne Cole officiated at the Passover services of our church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Brethren camefrom dis tant areas including Washington, D. C, New Jersey, Toronto, Ontario, and several from Ohio and WestVirginia.Ninety adults partook of the Passoverand about 165 were present on the firstHoly Day of the Feast.Mr. Cole reports that the church therecontinues to grow rapidly, and that theaverage attendance at the weekly Sabbath Services at Pittsburgh is now approximately 130! Many more interestedCo-workers in this area are yet to becontacted, so this church and area will

become a large and important one inGod's work in the future.At the Headquarters Church in Pasadena, on the spacious grounds of theAmbassador College campus, nearly 1000 line up for dinner, above, and enjoythei r meals on the beautifully contoured lawns, below.

Passover in Other ChurchesWe have only summary reports aboutthe Passover services held in our otherlocal Church areas. But the brethren inthese Churches-and hundreds of youscattered brethren in your own homesacross the uariou-e-observed God's Passover and had His presence with you inthis commanded observance.In our large Chicago church, 270adults par took of the Passover and 450people attended the Feast the following

day and the preaching services. Mr.Dean Blackwell, the minister there, officiated and reported that 25 people werebaptized during this joyous season.At St. Louis, Mr. Ken Swisher-flyingup from Gladewater-officiated at thePassover with 126 adults in attendance,and more coming on the foIIowingFeast day.At our new church in Springfield,Missouri, 129 adults partook of thePassover and more attended the HolyDay services foIlowing. Mr. GeraldWaterhouse conducted the services andreported that it was a wonderful FestivalIn every way.At Victoria, Texas, the San Antonioand Corpus Christi congregations metfor the Passover. Mr. Allen Manteufel ,the minister in that area, officiated with98 adults partaking of the Passover andmore in attendance on the Holy Days.At Houston, Texas, Mr. Jon Hil l officiated at the Passover services with 82adults partaking, and a wonderful Festival held the fol lowing day.We can also remember with thanksgiving that many hundreds of our brethren took the Passover in their ownhomes across the nation and Canada.

And addit ional scores of brethren attended rhe Passover in the Philippines ,Africa and other scattered areas.So, in addition to the nearly threethousand brethren who were able toattend a Passover service in America,hundreds of others throughout the nat ion and the world also observed thissacred memorial of our Savior's tragicdeath.Let us PRAY, brethren, that God willbless and inspire and empower His

minis ters in the new areas where God'sChurch is developing! Pray for Mr.Cole in Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvaniaarea. Pray for Mr. McNair and Mr.Martin over in the British Isles. Prayfor the New York area and the proposedchurch there.Pray zealously for God's Church andHis work EVERYWHERE. And let usgive God thanks and praise for blessingus with this largest and most joyousPassover season in modern times!


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Was the New Testament ChurchFounded on SUNDAY?

The Church Jesus built was founded on PENTECOST. What 15the meaning of Pentecost? Why baue the churches lost it?by Herman L. Hoeb

O VER 400 sects and denominationsare today competing for theNAME of Jesus Chrisr. They callthemselves "Christian" churches. But arethey?Could all---{)r any-of these conflict

ing sects and denominations be the ONETRUE CHURCH which Jesus founded?Jesus promised that He would bui ldHis Church. But He did not begin tobuild it WHEN most people think Hedid! He also prayed tha t His Churchwould be one, not many divided andconfused denominations.

An Apostasy ProphesiedJesus warned that there were toarise "many" false teachers and ministers,

deceiving the MANY, founding throughthe centuries dif ferent churches whichwould profess to be the churches ofCbrisi.John , one of the twelve apostles, sawthis very thing begin to happen in hislifetime! He said, " even now thereare many antichrists They wen t outfrom us, but they were not of us" (IJohn 2: 19). He continued in chapter 4,verse 5: "They are of the world . . .and the world hearetb them."

And the world is still hearing themtoday!In III John verses 9 and 10 the Apostlewa rned against false elders or bishopswho were thrusting the true members ofGod's Church out of the local congregations.[esus Christ the Revelator madeknown to John that the t rue Churchwould be a scattered and persecutedChurch that would have to flee for overa thousand years from the persecutingsword of a great false church claimingto be the true Church of Chri st. Compare Revelat ion 12 and 17.The Church that Jesus promised tobuild, which is composed of those whoare filled and led by the Spirit of God,is to be guided in to t ru th through allages despite enemies from without andaposrates from within who would profess

to teach the truth. Hi s Church is acommandment keeping Church, no t apoli tical organiza tion. It f ai thful ly retains the tes timony of Jesus Christ-thegospel-recorded in inspired Scripture(Rev. 12: 17 ). This Church recognizes

Christ as its Head and it is subject toHi s government.WHICH CHURCH IS THIS TRUECHURCH that is to continue throughall ages and exists today teaching andpreaching the same truth that Christand the apostles commanded? I f/henuias it founded?

How You Can KnowThe true Church must be the Church

that Jesus founded. I t must have beenfounded when He founded it, And itmust have been founded where He[ounded it.Now let's notice the plain facts.All Protestant churches-as theirown members admit-were founded toolate! They were not founded by Jesus

Christ but by men at least 15 centuriesafter Jesus founded Hi s Church. Mr.Meredith's r ecent series in Th e PLAINTRUTH makes this plain!Of course, many of them claim to be

reformed churches, that is, they claimto have restored the tr uth which waslost by some parent body, Thus theymust ultimately admit that they claimtheir origin FROM THE CATHOLICCHURCH. The common assumption isthat the Catholic Church was the truechurch t ha t wen t wrong and needed reforming and so these protestant bodiesare its rightful successors!Now the quest ion is this: Was theCatholic Church founded by [esasChrist when He founded His Church?When Was the Church Founded?The Scripture shows that the New

Testament Church began on the day ofPentecost! It is described in the secondchapter of Acts.A large denomination, which practises baptism, claims their church beganbefore this event-and that their churchis therefore the one true church. Theircontention is that Jesus founded HisChurch when He ... and they quote ICor, 12:28: "set some in the church,first apostles," I f you would carefullyread this scr ip ture just quoted, you willnotice it is not referring to the timewhen He chose the apostles, bu t to thefact that He set rhe apostl es first INAL'THORITY.This denomination also believes that

only those who are already "saved" canjoin their local churches. By this reasoning Judas must have been converted and"saved" since he was one of the twelvewhich Jesus supposedly first p laced intheir Church.What foolish reasoning!No, Jesus founded His New Testa-

ment Church on the day of Pentecostnot before then!It is the Holy Spirit that puts us intothe one body or true Church. You donot join some denomination after being"saved" (T Cor 1) '13) _ Jesus even toldthe apostles to wait in Jerusalem tillthe Holy Spirit, which the Father promised to send, would came (Acts 1:4)_That is when Jesus Iouuded His Church---{)n the day of Pentecos t in the city ofJerusalem!Was That Pentecost on SUNDAY?Now let us see if those churcheswhich claim to have been founded byJesus at J erusalem on Pentecost can actually prove their claims in the face of

proven history and the inspired recordof Scripture.Was the true Church founded on aSunday in A.D. 33 as the Catholic anda few Protestant churches claim? REMEMBER, if any church which claimsapostolic authority has erred in the traditional date of its founding , how canwe believe that its other traditions aretrue?In the March issue of The PLAINTRUTH, we published an article containing the seven i rre fu table proo fsfrom history that the year of the crucifixion-and hence the year of the founding of the true New Testament Churchof God-was 31 A.D., not 33 or 30 A.D.or any other date!Any Church organization admittingthat it was not founded when Jesusfounded His Church in 31 A.D. couldnot be the Church that Jesus promisedto build! It must be an impos ter!That same article in the March PLAINTRUTH proved from the Scripture andthe Calendar (reproduced on the next

page) that the Passover-Nisan 14, upon which Jesus died-occurred Wednesday, Apri l 25, in 31 A,D, Since we knowthis date, we can easily calculate thedate of Pentecost-the very day upon


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What Church Memhersshould know aboutMASONRY

This is the final installment in this intriguing, eye-opening series.H ere is what our Church members should do if they have beenMasons.by Jack R. Elliott

FREEMASONRY is l iv ing proof thatno teaching of man, regardless ofhuw innocent or righteous appearing, can be taken for granted-that noteaching can be assumed good, just because it looks good-that no teachingcan be assumed righteous, no matterhow solemnly it declares i tsel f so----orjudged honorable because its own cherished records suggest honor.In many ways Masonry is the exactopposite of what it claims to be!Masonic Claims

To its initiates the Masonic Lodgeteaches:"Masonry is useful to all men: to thelearned, because it affords them the opportunity of exercising their talentsupon subjects eminently worthy of theirattention; to the illiterate, because itoffers them important instruction; to theyoung, because it p resents th em withsalutary precept s and good examples,and accustoms them to reflect on theproper mode of living; to the man ofthe world, whom it furnishes with nobleand useful recreation; to the traveller,whom it enables to find friends andbrothers in countries where else hewould be isolated and solitary; to theworthy man in misfortune, to whom itgives assistance; to the afflicted, onwhom it lavishes consolation; to thecharitable man, whom it enables to domore good, by uniting with those whoare chari table like himself ; and to allwho have souls capable of appreciat ingits importance, and of enjoying thecharms of a fr iendsh ip founded on thesame principles of religion, morality, andphilanthropy" (Morals and Dogma, p.113) .

Now let us compare this with the iractual practice.The Real Test

God has set before each one of us achoice - a proving ground-to seewhether we will love and obey Himand be allowed to live in the Kingdomwhich will be set up-or whether wewill refuse and go our own way, into

the lake of fire (Deut, 30:19-20).Other plans of salvation which teacha different reward and a di ffe rent wayof getting eternal life are without God'sauthority. Those foolish who waste theirlives in pursuing such "wind" are unfortunate indeed.Freemasonry is just such a counterfeit. Its members waste untold hoursacting out foolish rituals which accomplish nothing, and memorizing endlessdialogue which helps no one. They ponder the moral philosophies of the ancients to discover wisdom, but theyacquire only a hodgepodge of deceptiveand foolish pagan reasonings.God declares there is only one WAY

to live happy, useful lives. And tha t isthe way HE has appointed for us. Anyother-such as Masonry-no matterhow good it may look, is at best a counter feit and serves only to dupe peopleinto thinking that they have what theyhave not.

Man-made CodesThey set up their code of morals according to human understanding, notknowing that only God's laws shallstand. They revel in the idiocy of parading before relics of ancient sun worship in great solemnity, foolishly hold

ing the sacred Word of God in nogreater respect than they do any otherancient writing.Their work in the community is not

the proclamation or upholding of God'sKingdom; it is, instead, the upholdingof the system around them. They do notpromote God's rule, but ignore it andset themselves up as the wise leaders,pretending to build character and feigning benevolence by giving chari ty tothe orphans and widows, while theyprivately endeavor to build their ownprosperity.The fol lowing example will serve toillustrate the enormity of their mistakeof following what looks good to maninstead of simply obeying their Creator.

Masonic Ten CommandmentsYou are all familiar with the Ten

Commandments recorded in Exodus 20and Deuteronomy 5 of your Bibles. Youwould normally assume these to berecognized by Masons especially whenthey claim that their moral philosophyis based on the Bible. Again this is notthe case. Masons have embraced anotherset of ten commandments which lookbetter to their eyes than the ones Godhas given.For brevity only the first two needto be discussed, though all ten are reproduced from Morals and Dogma inFigure 12 on the next page. Read themcarefully before you continue with thisarticle. They appear to be very wholesome and good, don't they?When we remember that the adept inMasonry gain more knowledge fromsymbols than f rom the plain statementsof their sacred writings we should beaware that cert ain key symbols are included which will unlock these depthsof meaning.Notice the lit tle circle with the crossinside it at the beginning of the firstcommandment. Regardless of any beautiful phraseology Masons place on thesesymbols, the ir deeper meaning mustinvariably lead to ancient sun worship.The circle or disc symbolizes the sunand the cross symbolizes immortality.The three dots in the form of an equilateral triangle represent the first causeand t rini ty of the pagan godhead.So i f the Mason is truly adept hewould see that he has borrowed fromthe ancient sun worshipers symbols andcreeds which would read this way forthe first commandment of Figure 12."God [the god whose symbol is a circleand a cross and triangular dots-thesun god} is the Eternal, Omnipotent,Immutable WISDOM and Supreme INTELLIGENCE and Exhaustless LOVE.(Wisdom, Intelligence and Love arecapitalized to remind Masons of theirdeeper meanings and tha t each in turnhas been worshiped by their paganancestors. )"Thou sha lt adore, revere, and loveHim!

"Thou shalt honor Him by practicing


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Figure 12The Masonic Ten Commandments

Masonry has its decalogue, which is a law to its Init ia tes. Theseare its Ten Commandments:1. EB.. God is the Eternal, Omnipotent, Immutable \VISDOM

and Supreme INTELLIGENCE and Exhaustless LOVE.Thou shalt adore, revere, and love Him!Thou shalt honor Him by practising the virtues!

II . 0 : . Thy religion shall be, to do good because it is a pleasure to thee, and not merely because it is a duty.That thou mayest become the friend of the wise man, thou

shalt obey his precepts!Thy soul is immortal! 'I'hou shalt do nothing to degrade it !

III. EEl.'. Thou shalt unceasingly war against vice!Thou shalt not do unto others that which thou wouldst notwish them to do unto thee!Thou shalt be submissive to thy fortunes, and keep burning

the light of wisdom!IV. 0. ' . Thou shalt honor thy parents!

Thou shalt pay respect and homage to the aged!Thou shalt instruct the young!Thou shalt protect and defend infancy and innocence!V. EB.. Thou shalt cherish thy wife and thy children!Thou shalt love thy country, and obey its laws!

VI. 0:. Thy friend shall be to thee a second self!Misfortune shall not estrange thee from him!Thou shal t do for his memory whatever thou wouldst do

fo r him, if he were living!VII. EB.. Thou shalt avoid and flee from insincere friendships!

Thou shalt in everything refrain from excess.Thou shalt fear to be the cause of a stain on thy memory!

VIII. 0. ' . Thou shalt allow no passions to become thy master!Thou shal t make the passions of others profitable lessonsto thyself!Thou shalt be indulgent to error!

IX . EEl.'. Thou shalt hear much: Thou shalt speak little: Thoushalt act well!

Thou shalt forget injuries!Thou shalt render good for evil!Thou shalt not misuse either thy strength or thy superiority!

X. 0:. Thou shalt study to know men; that thereby thoumayest learn to know thyself!Thall shalt ever seek after virtue!Thou shalt be just!Thou shalt avoid idleness!

Page 8the vi rtues [of the ancient pagans}"(see p. 21 Mort/ls and Dogma).

What greater blasphemy could therebe than this? How this must stink inthe nostrils of the Living Gud! Whenthey a tt ribu te the name and office ofGod to any othe r they b re ak t he first,second and third of God's Command-ments.The second of these Masollic com-mandments, as well as the remainingeight, are likewise contrary to the Com-mandments of God. By it t he Masonis told to do "good" without definingwhat good is. Ye t you can surely seethat it is not referring to obedience toGod because t he n ex t instructs him toseek out the wise MAN and obey hisprecepts. But Proverbs 14: 12 states,"There is a way which seernerh rightunto a man, but the end thereof arethe ways of death." Masons in theiril.inorance have pursued the way ofdeath.Prestige and Prosperity TheirReal Goal

Few members of the Lodge couldtruthfully deny that the ir r eason forbelonging to the Lodge is th e personalucudits which r ai se the ir communi tystanding and financial prosperity.Members of the Lodge may already beprosperous and active members of theircommunity before joining the Lodge.In fact it is usually after they obtain acer ta in measure of prestige within thecommuni ty tha t they are allowed tojoin a fraternity. It is there, among themore prominent citizens, that they hopeto further their prosper ity. Such an honor usually aids Due's social position, andalso gives a social outlet, bu t this doesnot exalt God; it exal ts only the man.When a man embraces the Lodge, otherprominent men of the community become his brothers. Together they practice this doctrine of "brotherly love"assisting anr] encouraging one ano therwhile r eaping the general good for tuneof having a close set of influential andlike-minded friends. It is here thatMasonry pays off. A member who hasan acceptable p lea for help or a favorneed only mention his need to the prop-er brother and the requested "aid" comesforth as if by answered prayer . Masonshave more faith in receiving this peti-tion from other members than t hey doin receiving answers to prayers fromGod.

Short of t he Glo ry of GodEven if the brothers understood anda ttempted to live up to Lodge teachingsof moral conduct, and strove ever sohard to be considerate of their brethren,they still only attain a burnan righteous-ness which is far from the r ighteousnessof God.

The GOOD NEWS

In actual practice their humanmora ls and ideals break down becausehuman righteousness can extend only as

May, 1959

far as the human cha ract er can back itup. Many are able to help and encourageone another as long as doing so remains


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May, 1959profitable to themselves, but who amongthem can afford to help others at hisown personal expense, especially overan extended period of time; and whoamong them has the character to withstand all the temptations of vanity,greed, and lust which life presents?

During their conventions, Shrinerstake over whole towns, influencing police and officials so that they are freeto do whatever they please. Who amongthem is seeking law and order? Whoeven tries to pu t aside foolishness,drunkenness, and fornication?These men would do well to pondertheir actions, not in the light of thepagan doc tr ine of the "Brothe rhood ofMan," but in the t rue l ight of God'sWord. The fourth and fifth chapters ofEphesians should convince any of theopen-minded in thei r ranks that theirway-Masonry-is wrong. In Chapter 5,verses 1 through 5, Paul instructs thebrethren:"Be ye therefore followers of God,as dear children; and walk in love, asChrist also hath loved us, and has givenHimself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.But fornication, and all uncleanness, orcovetousness, let it not be once namedamong yOll, as becometh saints; neitherfilthiness, nor foolish talking nor jesting(ribaldry), which are not convenient(befitting) : but rather, giving of thanks.For this ye know, that no whoremonger,nor unclean person, nor covetous man,who is an idolater , hath any inheritancein the Kingdom of Chr is t and of God."Without the practice of some of theseforbidden characteristics there would beno masonry!

Ignorance UnderstandableWith this expose and explanation ofFreemasonry, it is hoped that the func

tion of the fraternity is not only clear,bu t that t he i gno rance of its membersmay be made understandable. The lodger ituals, as seen by the average in iti ate ,appear harmless. He is not told whathe will encounter in the Lodge beforehe is admitted-only that nothing willbe requi red of him which is against thelaws of God and his duty to his state orfamily. The fact that this is a lie is seldom discovered by him because nothingis revealed until he has been psychologically prepared to receive it. This is doneby the use of solemn prayer before eachundertaking , and scrip ture quotationsare read which seem to give divine sanction. All is done in such a way that itseems r ighr and good to the gulliblecandidate who is bl inded by his desireto receive new and mysterious l ight andto be counted among the wise, honorable, and prosperous.

I t is further hoped that this writingwill provide church members with clear

Tbe GOOD NEWSand accurate answers to questions onMasonry, and that they might be ableto help others who are t ruly seeking toobey God. Such men, when their mindsbuoe been opened, can surely be shownwhere membership in the MasonicLodge, as much as membership in anyof the denominat ions , is incompatiblewith obedience and service to God.Avoiding Unnecessary PersecutionAs was stated earlier, this series is

not written for general publication, butfor those members of the true Churchwho seek God's way of life. I t would bea pointless waste of time and truth totry to convince others. They are satisfied with the ir status and would onlyturn again to rend you.

I f the material contained herein werepublished in such a way as to thr eatenthe popular ity of the Lodge, retal ia tionsuch as was brought against the ApostlePaul at Ephesus (see Acts 19:24-41)would surely result. The craftsmen whobuilt the pagan shrines to Diana, whichwere mentioned earlier, were angry withPaul because he persuaded many to turnaway from heathenism. The reason forthe craf tsmen's anger is given in verse27. These are the words of the Silversmith, Demetrius, who reasoned, ". . .not only our Craft is in danger to beset at naught; but also that the templeof the great goddess Diana should bedespised, and her magnificence shouldbe destroyed, whom all Asia and theworld worshippeth." (This temple toDiana was one of the so-called "sevenwonders of the world .")

The fact that Masons proudly claimthese ancient craft smen such as Demet rius for their progenitors is recordedin the General History, Cyclopedia andDictionary of Freemasonry, an authentic, Masonic work. It says that thetraveling Masons (ancient craftsmen),from whom they supposedly der ivetheir origin, built this same temple toDiana for the Kings of Asia (p . 11).

If these early artificers persecuted theChurch in Paul's time because theyfeared that their craft and religion wouldsuffer, their modern counterpart willnot hesitate to do so today. Therefore,each one of you must use wisdom inorder that unnecessary persecution maybe prevented.

I f it becomes your duty to advise aMason to quit the Fra terni ty , do NOTtell him to stir up trouble for himselfby going to the Secretary of his Lodge(or any other member) and announcinghis opposition. This action would probably cause him to receive needless persecution. Usually it is better to withdraw by simply ceasing to pay dues andceasing to attend meetings. The Lodgewill drop him from its rolls quicker fornonpayment of dues than for any other

Page 9reason. This, in itself, is a clue to thereal mot ives behind the Craft!

This method might cause Masons toencourage his resumed participation, butit will no t bring the persecution thatMasons have sworn to bring againstthose who oppose them or their teachmgs.The ex-Mason should realize, how

ever, t ha t w ithd rawing membershipfrom the Lodge does not of itself release him from t he many oaths he hastaken. If he really believed, at the time,that he took the oaths to Almighty God,and unless these oaths prevent him fromserving GoJ and obeying His Laws, heshould consider himself bound by them(Numbers 30: 2).

Satan's Hapless VictimsOne cannot pass f rom the subject ofFreemasonry without reflecting on thefutil ity of the struggle of its vict ims, andfeeling sorry for the gullible ones whohave been led into its inner chamberslike sheep to the slaughter.All they have for their efforts is certain materia l advancement which does

not endure past the grave. As they laboriously ascended the "winding stairs,"they were promised rich rewards fortheir labor. But instead of eternal truththey were given fables. Instead ofveloping the righteous character of God,they grew in the unholy character ofselfishness and greed through seekingextra pr ivileges for themselves to the

~ x c I l l s i o n of others. Instead of growingII I t rue knowledge, they tickled theirvanity with mysterious phrases and symbols which meant nothing, but wereempty and void, only to be told at theend of their wearisome journey that theMason must ever be in search of truth,but will never find it.This august secret, the object of allthe ir labors, is indeed , a humiliating reward.

It is the reward of a cruel god(Satan) who deceives his worshipersinto believing that d ivine t ru th cannever be acquired in this life. Diabolically, his victims are taught by Masonicin strument s that their ignorance mus tremain until they are raised from the irgraves and the knowledge of life isrevealed.

They never suspect that the reasonthey will not know truth in this life isthat they have chosen the wrong wayand the wrong god.'THE END

I f any of our readers are missing anyof the previous installments of thisseries, write us immediately.Correction: In the April Issue, thelast sentence of the first paragraphon page 1 should have read: "WasJesus weaker than other men?"


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(Continued from page 6)Church FOU11.ded on SUNDAY?

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apostacies and have accepted pagan doctrines. They have forgotten th e rightyear and the right day for the founding of the true church. They are no t theChurch that Jesus promised to buildand which He promised to guide intoall truth! Only the true church whichhas kept the trtte day of Pentecost couldremember when Jesus founded HisChurch.How p la in it is!The TRUE Church which Jesus builtis nor an organized denomination whichyOli join. The TRUE Church is composedof those individuals who submi t themselves to the authori ty of God, who reo

pent and believe in Jesus and the gospelof the kingdom which He preached.The TRUE Church is that body of individuals filled and led by the Holy Spirit-it is the body of Christ, a scatteredChurch which keeps ALL the commandments and believes the gospe l of thekingdom (Rev. 12: 17).Now let us notice the special reasonwhy God sent the Holy Spirit that Monday and also the special moaning of theday of Pentecost FOR US TODAY!

Why Mistakenly Reckoned As SundayTIl{: GlUSe fo r placing Pentecost onSunday is based on the error of counting"Saturdays" instead of weeks. Pentecostis not the feasr of "Saturdays" bu t the"feast of weeks" (Exodus 34:22). Mosessays to count seven ful l WEEKS (Deut.16:9) and the day after that is Pentecost. This feast is not the end of theseventh week, bu t "after your weeksbe out," the f if tieth day (Nurn. 28: 26) .

lr was numbered f rom the DAY thatIsrael first began to reap the grain(Deut. 16:9). This day is specificallymentioned in Lev. 23: 15. "Ye shallcount unto you from t he morrow afterTHE sabbath, from the day that yebrought the sheaf of the wave offering."So God wants us to count from a Sun-day, the day the sheaf of grain was cur.Some have become confused becausethey have assumed tha t the day on whichthe wave sheaf was offered pictured theresurrecrion of Christ . It does not!Christ was resurrected at the close ofthe Sabbath, before the commencementof the first day of the week. He was inHis grave three days and three nightsfrom Wednesday evening. The cuttingof the wave sheaf on Sunday did not picture the resurrection. The death ofChrist is pictured by the sowing of abare kernel of grain. The green plantthat arises out of the soil i nt o the sunl ight pictures the resurrection. NoticePaul's analogy in I Cor. 15:36-39.But the cutting of the wave sheaf

The GOOD NEWS

from the earth and the presf'ntation ofit before t he Holy Place in the Templepictured the ascension of Jesus and Hisacceptance by the Father in Heavenwhich occurred sometime during thedaylight hours of Sunday, April 29 in31 A.D.On that morning Jesus abruptly declared to Mary: 'Touch Me not, For Iam not yet ascended to My Father"

(John 20: 17). Bur later, that afternoon,Jesus met several women on their wayto Galilee. And what happened? "Andthey came and held Him by the feetand worshipped Him" (Mat thew 28 :9 ) .This little-known event is what is pictured by the waving of that sheaf ofgrain. Pentecost is 50 days after thisSunday! I t is not 50 days after the dayof the resurrection!

WHO Det erm ines t he Day ofPentecost?Count ing the date of Pentecost is acollective, not an individua l, mat te r.

The Church is responsible for reckoningit; the individuals who cOll1lJose theChurch are not responsible for it.Ir is of most vital importance that allmembers understand this. You, as anindividual member are not responsiblefor counting the fifty days. It is not foryou, as an indivi dual member, to SETthe day on which the whole Churchshall assemble, If it were, then yourswould be the responsibility of computing and setting the date of the daywhich is HOLY-and also of deci di ngwhen all other Christians must assemble.Only GOD can make future timeHOLY! Only GODcan sanctify-set apart-a day as a Holy Convocation on whichHE commands all His people to assemble.God RULES His Church through His

Government which He established inthe Church. How does He govern? He"hath set some in the Church, firstapostles, secondarily prophets, thirdlyteachers ..." ( I Corinthians 12:28) -or, as in Ephesians 4: 11-14, some are"apostles; and some, prophets; and some,evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, forthe work of the ministry , . , till we allcome in the unity of the faith"-that is,unity in doctrine or belief-"that wehenceforth be no more children, tossedto and fro, and carried about with everywind of doctrine. . . ." God rules andgoverns in His Church through thesewhom HE has chosen as His ministersand His instruments for administeringHIS AUTHORITY, for the very purposeof preventing false doctrine creeping into divide and to destroy the flock-for

May, 1959the very purpose of keeping UNITY inthe Church.Thus God, through His ministers, setsthe day. HE sanctifies or sets it apartas HOLY TIME-time which He alonecan make holy-time on which HISWHOLE CHURCH ISTOASSEMBLE! Whenindividual members attempt to compute

and to decide which day to make holy,they make themselves competitors andenemies of God's Church and of God 'sgovernment in it. They stir up dissension, cause division, and thus pu t themselves out of the Church.The individual must first determinefor himself-must satisfy himself-c-asto which is the one true Church of God,and then he must be subject to thegovernment of God in His Church.This he must voluntarily submit to. Heought, however to know HOW God'sChurch is led to set aside the Day ofPentecost. So, see, now, how God leadsHis Church to count this day.

How to Count PentecostOne day from today is not today, bu ttomorrow. One day from Sunday isMonday. Two days from Sunday is Tuesday. One week from Sunday is Sunday.Seven weeks or forty-nine days fromSunday is Sunday. But Pentecost isAFTER seven weeks or for ty-nine days.It is FIFTY days from Sunday. Therefore it MUST ALWAYS FALL ON A MONDAY!The mistake of counting "Saturdays"instead of weeks is based on an incorrect translation in the common versionsof Leviticus 23: 15,16. In the KingJames and some other translations, itincorrect ly reads "seven sabbaths shallbe complete: even unto the morrow afterthe seventh sabbath shall you numberfifty days." The word here translated"sabbath" can also mean "rest or "seven"or "WEEK." Therefore we need to letthe Bible determine what is the propermeaning in this place.The same Hebrew word that Mosesused in Leviticus 23:15 and 16 was alsoused by the apostles and disciples in itsGreek form to mean "week," as in Mark16:9. Here it would be as foolish torender the word "week" by "sabbath" asit is to translate Leviticus 23: 16 by "sabbath," because fifty days from Sunday isa Monday-the morrow after the seventh week,Both JEWISH AND CATHOLIC VER-SIONS OF THE BIBLE RENDER THISWORD CORRECTLY AS "WEEK." TheDouay or Catholic Version for Leviticus23: 15,16 reads: "You shall count therefore from the morrow after the sabbath,wherein you offered the sheaf of the firstfruits, seven full weeks , even unto themorrow after the seventh week be expired, that is to say fifty days."As absolute proof that this verse


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May, 1959should be translated "af te r the seventhweek," turn to Deur. 16:9 and Num.28: 26 where the word week is t ranslated from a different Hebrew word-shablla-which NEVER means sabbath,but always week. Since in these versesthe Hebrew words used never mean thesabbath, and s ince seven weeks-forrynine days-from a Sunday is a Sunday,the fiftieth day must be Monday. Hence,the real meaning of Lev. 23: 16 is "themorrow afte r the seventh week." Anyother translation would necessitate acontradiction of Scripture!"From" Means "Away Out of"Some also do not quite understandthe meaning of counting from one dayto another . A week from Sunday is the

NEXT Sunday, and seven weeks from aSunday is seven Sundays away. But weare to count to the f if tieth day, that is,to the completion of Monday so wehave the fltll fifty days.This is explained in Levi ticus 23:27,32 where one counts from the end ofthe evening no t the beginning---{)f the

nimh day to the complet ion of the evening of the tenth day, making onewhole day. Thus we are to count fiftydays from the end of Sunday, the daythe wave sheaf was offered, to the endof a Monday-which is the day of Pentecost. Pentecost is the last or f if tieth day.YeS, the Church that Jesus bui lt wasnot founded on Sunday, but on Monday. Ca thol ics and the Jews know thatPentecost is to be numbered fifty daysor seven full weeks and a day from Sunday, the day the wave sheaf was offered.Yet NElTHER of them knows how tofigure correctly!

What Pentecost Means in th ePlan o f God

To keep us in mind that this presentage is only the pre liminary or first harvest of human beings, God took theyearly material harvest of Palestine asthe p ic ture of the spiritltal harvest. Asyou probably have already learned, thereare two harvest seasons in the PromisedLand. The first small harvest is producedby an ear ly rain, the second great harvestby a later rain.Pentecost was ordained forever (Lev.23: 21 ) at the end of the spring harvestseason, so that we might remember yearby year-and never forget-that this

present church age is not the great dayof salvation for all the world. I t is theday of salvation for only the few whoare called out of this present evil civilizat ion and given the Spirit of God. In ICorinthians 1: 26 we find that "notmany" of the great in this world arecalled. Everywhere, the Chri sr ians arespoken of as called out from the world.N at all are being called today. It is the

The GOOD NEWS"elect" or chosen in Israel who are calledtoday; the rest are blinded so th at Godcould IN THE FUTURE have mercy uponALL (Romans 11: 7,32).The "harvesting" of human beingswho are called in this church age to beheirs of the Kingdom of God is explained in Levi ticus 23 beginning verse9. Here the ma teri al harvest of grainwas originally used as a type of thespiritual harvest.The Israelites were not permitted toharvest their gr ain until the day thewave sheaf was offered. (Lev. 23: 10,11;

Deut. 16: 9). This ritual, gi ven to theLevitical priesthood to perform andtherefore not pract iced today, picturedthe resurrected Christ being acceptedby the Father as the very first humanbeing to be born of God.

Why Pentecost on Monday?The wave sheaf - remember - did

NOT picture the resurrection of Chris t,but the resurrected Christ being acceptedof the Father on Sunday, the day afterHis resurrection the fint of the week.Consider! Since the resurrected Christis the first of the firstfruits and was accepted by the Father on the Sundayaftcr his resurrectiou-c-purrrayed by thewave sheaf offered on the first day ofthe week-then we who are second inorder to be reaped-"afterwards theythat are Christ's at His coming"-arepictured by having the feast of firstfruits or Pentecost fall on the SECONDDAY OF THE WEEK or Monday.But notice also, the wave sheaf wasmerely the first part of the first harvest.

I t was a sheaf of the first fruits of theharvest (Verse 10). Thus Chr is t is the"firstfruits of t hem tha t slept" ( I Cor.15: 20). And Christians who are calledin this age are also said to be the first-fruits (James 1: 18; Romans 8: 2 3) .Christ is the first of the firstfruits ofGod 's harvest of human beings. Pentecost pictures, then, the coming of theHoly Spi ri t and the ripening of the restof the firstfruit s for harves ting at theresurrection ( I Cor. 15: 23 ). This churchage is merely the first harvest .Pentecost in the New Testament

ChurchWhen originally given by God, theday of Pen tecost was commanded to beobserved forever (Lev. 23:21). Jesusnever abolished Pentecost nor any ofthe other annual Holy Days. The dayof Pentecost DID OCCUR after Christ'sdeath that year as Luke records.N one of these annual festivals had

burnt offe rings or sacrifices on themwhen originally instituted (J eremiah7: 22,23). The sacrifices were added tothese days and to every day of the year(Exodus 29:38) as a parr of the serviceof the Levit ical pries thood.

Page 11When the sacrifices and oHeringswere consummated in the death of Christonce for all , these usual offerings ceasedto be made for the conscience (Heb.9: 13,14) by those who were convertedand who believed in Christ. But the

command tha t Pentecost be observedforever as a Sabbath and convocationstill remains (Lev. 23: 21). That is whythe apostles and disciples were gatheredtogether with all the devout Jews onthis occasion (Acts 2; 1 ). If the discipleshad not gathered on this day which wassacred to God, they would not bare beenthere to receive the gift of God, HisSpirit.Not only did the Jewish Christiansknow this, but also Paul, the apost le tothe Gentiles, understood th at this annual Sabbath was still commanded by

God for His spiritual church. He "determined to sail by Ephesus, because hewould not spend the time in Asia; forhe hasted, if it were possible for him,to be [the original Greek word ginomaimeans " to observe"} at Jerusalem theday of Pentecost." (Acts 20: 16).Paul, the teacher of the Gentiles,wanted to observe Pentecost thirty yearsafter the death of Christ! He did notmerely want to be at Jerusalem. He specifically wanted to celebrate at Jerusalemthe day of Pentecos t. (See the def init ionof the Greek word ginornai in the Analytical Greek New Testament publishedby Harpers and Bagsters.)At another time Paul spent the day ofPen tecost in Ephesus, a Gen ti le city (ICor. 16: 8 ). On two o ther occasionsPaul is recorded to have attended services on Pentecost! Once at Antioch inPisidia and again at Philippi ( Acts13:/4 and 16:13). In each case the inspired Greek original, incorrectly trans-lated " sabbath day," should have beenrendered "day of weeks"-Pentecost.

The same is t rue about Jesus in Luke4; 16. Yes, Pentecost was observed by allthose of the true original Church whichwas under d iv ine ins truc tion from theapostles. Gentiles received the praise ofPaul for fo llowing the churches of Godin Judaea - the Jewish brethren (IThess. 2: 14) who observed this day.Pentecost Centuries After A.D. 31With the death of the apostles, agreat change occurred, which most ofyou have never been told abonr. A terrible aposracy set in among the churches.Paul warned the Ephesians with

whom he observed Pentecost, as we havealready seen, that "after my departingshall grievous wolves enter in amongyou, not sparing the flock. Also of yourown selves shall men arise, speakingperverse things, to draw disciples afterthem" (Acts 20:29,30). "For the timewill come when they will not endure


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Page 12sound doctrine; but after their own lustsshall they heap to themselves teachers,having itching ears; and they shall turnaway their ears from the truth, and shallbe turned unto fables" (I I Tim. 1:3).Paul warned those Chris tians aboutthe very fables that most of you havebeen taught since childhood by apostatechurches who think Pentecos t fell on aSunday.By the time Jude wrote his epist le,the fables of which Paul warned had already started. He exhorts: "You shouldearnestly contend for the fait h whichwas once del ivered unto the saints. Forthere are certain men crept in unawares"(Jude 3,4).Remember, the Gentile Christians inthe o riginal inspired church observedPentecost. We will now notice astounding PROOF IN LATER HISTORY that thefalse church changed it.If the Genti les NEVER kept thi s daybefore conversion or after, then we

should NOT expect to find any record ofGentile churches observing a "Pentecost." Bur they did observe it! Theseare the facts!How Pentecost Was Changed

The following extracts from historiesobtainable at most libraries PROVE THATTHE EARLIEST GENTILE CHURCHES DIDKEEP PENTECOST! These records speakof Catholics keeping Pentecost-a Pentecost that was changed in the immediateyears that followed the death of the lastapostles. This Pentecost, so-called, hadsoon become corrupted with SUN WOR-

SHIP. It soon fell on Sunday, the same asthe pagan Easter substituted for thePassover.Here is a plain statement of Hasting'sDictionary of the Bible, article "Pentecost":"In the Christian Church the importance of Pentecost was continued andits significance emphasized by the outpour ing of the Spi rit on that day (Acts2) . The day of the week on that occasion is TRADITIONALLY representedas Sunday . . . Wieseler (Chron. d.Aposl. Zeiralrer, p. 20) plausibly suggests tbat the festival was fixed on Sun-day by tbe later Western Church to cor-respond with Easter."Among the early Jewish Chris tiansobservance of the Hebrew feasts continued, doubtless with fresh significancederived from the new revelat ion."Let's notice these statements. Pente-cost uas continued in the early trueChristian Church. I t is TRADITION, notRevelation, that later places Pentecost onSunday according to Wieseler.Now let us also take note of theCatholic Encyclopedia."Whitsunday, or Pentecost, a feast ofthe universal Church which commemorates the Descent of the Holy Ghost

The GOOD NEWSupon the Apostles ... Whitsunday, asa Christian feast, dates back to the firstcentury, a lthough the re is no evidencethat it was observed ... the passage inI Corinthiam (16:8) probably refers tothe Jewish feast."Here is one of the plainest admissions that the Pentecost observed byGentile converts, as the Bible records

in I Corinthians 16: 8, was NOT THESAME as the "Christian" feast which laterdeveloped in the Catholic church.The FACT that there are records of afalse day corroborates the Bible by indicating that the Gentiles originally keptthe true day. But af ter the death of theapostles, it was perverted.If no day had been observed original-ly, there would have been no Pentecostto alter!Early Confusion Among CatholicsAbout PentecostAs usual, with the introduction of error wholesale, t he re is always a periodof adjustment until the e rror is finallyestablished. We notice JUSt such a situation in early Catholic records be foretheir Pentecost or Whitsunday was firmly established. Bingham's Antiquities of

the Christian Church, pages 1157, 1158,says:"The next great festival was that ofPentecost, which is taken in a doublesense among the ancients. For somet imes it signifies the whole space offifty days between Easter and Whitsuntide ... In the former accepta tion Terrullian speaks of it, when he tells theChristians . . . That Pentecost was a

large space of time APPOINTED BY THECHURCH for adminis tering of baptism. . . And hence it became a standingrule over the whole chu rch to read theActs in these fifty days of Pentecost, asappears from many Other places ofChrysostom, Austin, Cassian, and thefourth council of Toledo."In his On Fasting, Chapter XIV, Tertul lian says this: "Our solemnities toowill be bound to be new: else, if theapostle has erased all devotion absolutely . .. why do we celebrate the passover by an annual rotation in the firstmonth? Why in the fifty ensuing daysdo we spend our time in all exultation?"(From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, pp.111-112.) Obviously, Terrullian recognized that the Apostle Paul did NOTabolish all these days.At other times, Pentecos t was usedto mean the specific day that ended theseason of fifty days, during which "thenewly-baptized wore t he ir white andshining garments"-hence, Whitsunday.At one time the confusion over the dayof Pentecost led the Council of Elvira,Spain, in 30'5 A.D., to condemn the tendency to celebrate it forty days afterEaster.

May, 1959I t Was Prophesied to Happen!

"Why," it is often asked, "did theBible not warn us that God 's Holy Dayswould be transformed into pagan holidays-Pentecost into a day of sunworship on which the heathen baptizedtheir initiates who were clad in whitegowns?"The answer is that THE BIBLE DOES

WARN US! It was prophesied in advance!Turn to the book of Hosea. Theprophet had a message for the future-sfor our day! Not ice: "And I"-God isquoted by the prophet-"will punishher" - our people today - "for theFEAST DAYS OF THE BAALS!"Sunday, Christmas, Easter, W hitsun-day [falsely called Pentecost], Hallowe'enare feast days of Baal!What could be plainer! Our people"forgot Me, says the Lord" - becausethey have rejected His holy days. "Andin tha t day"-the very near future whenChrist intervenes in world affairs-"I

will remove the names of the Baals fromher mou th, and they shall be mentionedby name no more" (Hosea 2: 13, 17,RSV).How clear! Israel today--our people

-have adopted the feast days of Baal.The church holiday called Whitsundayis named afte r a pagan rite. God forbidsus to honor Him by celebrating theseBabylouish CUSLUms. God warns: "Takeheed . . . that thou inquire not . . . 'Howused these nations to serve their gods?even so will I do likewise. ' THOU SHALTNOT DO SOUNTOTHE LORD THYGOD.For every abomination which He hateth,have they done unro their gods" (Deur,17'30-31).How plain! The apostates of theCatholic Church were almost whollyGentiles. These men gradually developedtheir own customs to distinguish themselves from the Jews, and yet to retainthe Christian or Jewish names. Both thePassover and Pentecost were TRANS-

FERRED GRADUALLY TO SUNDAY. Andthe name Passover was at last droppedfor Easter. Even Pentecost has beengreatly obscured by the name Whitsunday. And along with the pervers ion ofthese two days, the apostate churchLOST ALL REMAINING KNOWLEDGE OFTHE TRUE PLAN OF GOD which thesedays picture.

Let Us Obey GodThe Reformation failed to restore theHo ly Days of God. All the multiplic ityof churches today either follow thepagan custom of observing Pentecos ton Sunday or else NEGLECTING the dayaltogether.The time has come for us to get backto the faith ONCE DELIVERED to thesaints. Let's begin to keep holy, the days

God made holy.

Good News 1959 (Vol VIII No 05) May_w

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Transcript of Good News 1959 (Vol VIII No 05) May_w